Hockey Puck Clock
Overview Do you know a hockey enthusiast? This hockey puck clock is a great gift idea, as a paperweight or desktop item. You will need a drill press and a special bit for this project, but it is not difficult if you have the right tools. Things needed *Drill press. *Forstner bit. *Clock insert. *Hockey puck. *Clamps, drill press vise, or other jig for holding hockey puck on the drill press. Steps #Obtain materials. #Obtain access to tools. A Forstner bit is designed to "sweep out" the region it is drilling. You can also do the job with an ordinary hole saw and a gouge, but it would be lots more work. #Find the center of the hockey puck. Remember your high school geometry? If so, you can use that technique. Or just use a ruler, and estimate the center location. Measure the distance from the estimated center location to the edges of the puck, and keep moving the estimated center, until you get the puck center located. Lines on the puck should, ideally, be kept to the central region so they will disappear when you drill out the hole for the clock insert. #Insert the Forstner bit into the drill press. #Set the drill press speed slow. You do not need speed, as hockey pucks are soft compared to metal. Rather, you are looking for accuracy. Also, using a slow speed means less risk of melting the edge of the hole. #Set the drill press depth so it will only drill out about 8mm (3/8-inch) deep into the hockey puck. You do not want to drill all the way through. #Use clamps, a drill press vise, or other mechanism to hold the puck securely on the drill press, with the center of the puck exactly positioned under the center of the drill bit. #Drill the hole for the clock, to a depth of only 8-9 mm. The exact depth depends upon the clock insert you are using. #Clean up the puck, and erase any pencil lines. #Set the clock, insert it into the hockey puck. You are done! Tips & suggestions *A thin bit of masking tape put around the base of the clock insert can be used to make it fit more snugly into the hole in the puck. Do not cement the clock insert into the puck, or the battery could not be changed on the clock! *It helps to have a couple of spare pucks around, as the first attempt may be off center or skewed. *One supplier of clock inserts sells 37mm (1-7/16 inch) clock inserts which fit in a 35mm (1-3/8 inch) hole which is 6mm (1/4 inch) deep. That is typical and looks nice when inserted into a hockey puck. *Hockey pucks can be obtained in different colors. Blue looks good, with a gold colored clock insert. *A nice catchy name for this object is a "Clockey Puck". *Wear glasses when using the drill press. *Watch that the drilling does not jerk your hand towards the drill bit. Everything else External resources Category:Arts & Crafts